This page was updated on 23 Nov 2012 to include the disclaimer below. No other content in this article was affected.

DISCLAIMER: Users are warned that historic issues of this publication may contain language or views which, reflecting the authors' attitudes or that of the period in which the item was written, may be considered to be inappropriate or offensive today.

Incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

This article presents information on the incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is based on the gross (before tax) income of persons aged 15 years and over, as reported in the 1996 and 2001 Censuses of Population and Housing.

Income is reported in 'income ranges' in the census. To create household income estimates, an income value was estimated for each person by assigning them the median value for the reported range, as derived from the 1999-2000 Survey of Income and Housing Costs (SIHC). The estimated values for each person were then aggregated to create household income.

Household income is used to indicate the economic resources available to the members of the household. However, larger households normally require a greater level of income to maintain the same material standard of living as smaller households, and the needs of adults are normally greater than the needs of children. The income estimates are therefore adjusted by an equivalence scale to standardise the income estimates with respect to household size and composition while taking into account the economies of scale that arise from the sharing of dwellings. The equivalised income estimate for any household is expressed as the amount of cash income that a single person household would require to maintain the same standard of living as the household in question, regardless of the size or composition of the latter.

In 2001, the mean equivalised gross household income of Indigenous persons was $364 per week compared to $585 per week for non-Indigenous persons (table 7.9). The income of Indigenous persons living in major cities was $435 per week, 20% higher than the mean income for all Indigenous persons. Indigenous incomes in areas designated as 'very remote' average $267 per week, 27% below the mean income for all Indigenous persons. For non-Indigenous persons, mean equivalised household incomes in the major cities were also higher than the average for non-Indigenous ($622 per week compared to $585 per week). However, for non-Indigenous persons, average incomes were as high in the very remote areas as in the major cities.

An analysis of Indigenous persons in 2001, by income quintiles (table 7.9), shows that 72% of Indigenous persons are within the bottom two income quintiles. Indigenous persons in major cities are more evenly distributed through the income quintiles, although only 9% of Indigenous persons living in major cities have incomes in the highest quintile. In very remote areas, 91% of Indigenous persons are in the bottom two income quintiles.

(a) See 'Statistical Geography, Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001' (1216.0).(b) Data in this table for 1996 are expressed in 2001 prices, using movements in the Consumer Price Index.(c) Income quintiles are formed by ranking all persons in ascending order of household income and then dividing the population into five equally sized groups, each containing 20% of the persons in the population.

Source: ABS data available on request, 1996 and 2001 Censuses of Population and Housing.

Graph 7.10 illustrates the difference in income distribution between Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons. The graph shows that a greater proportion of Indigenous persons have income at the lower end of the income distribution. Both income distributions peak at approximately $250 per week which is close to the average rate of government benefits. However, the proportion of Indigenous people with income around this level is approximately twice as high as the proportion of non-Indigenous persons.

Mean equivalised gross household income of Indigenous persons grew by 11% over the period, from $329 per week to $364 per week (table 7.11). Non-Indigenous incomes grew by 13%, between 1996 and 2001, slightly more than Indigenous incomes. The proportion of Indigenous persons in the bottom income quintile increased from 42% to 45%, with decreases in all other quintiles.

Table 7.11 provides details of the mean equivalised gross household income per week levels of Indigenous persons across the states and territories of Australia. The mean equivalised gross household income of Indigenous persons in the Northern Territory was $288 per week, 21% below the Indigenous national mean income level of $364 per week. Two other states had Indigenous incomes below the national average: Western Australia at $344 per week (6% below) and South Australia at $351 per week (4% below). The Australian Capital Territory had the highest mean income for Indigenous persons at $559 per week, 54% above the Indigenous national average. Victoria recorded the second highest mean income for Indigenous persons at $415 per week, 14% above the average; New South Wales recorded the third highest average income for Indigenous persons at $387 per week, 6% above the average; with Tasmania and Queensland incomes at about the national average.

Analysing the ratio of Indigenous to non-Indigenous mean equivalised gross household income per week by Remoteness Area, highlights that very remote areas had the lowest ratio of Indigenous to non-Indigenous incomes with Indigenous persons receiving 43% of the level of non-Indigenous income. Within very remote areas, Northern Territory has the lowest ratio of Indigenous and non-Indigenous incomes (32%) followed by Western Australia (39%).

At the state and territory level, Tasmania had the highest Indigenous to non-Indigenous income ratio, with Indigenous incomes being 77% of the income of non-Indigenous persons. The Australian Capital Territory followed closely with Indigenous incomes at 75% of the non-Indigenous income. The Northern Territory had the lowest ratio, where Indigenous income was 42% of the incomes of non-Indigenous persons. Western Australia had the second lowest mean Indigenous income level with an Indigenous to non-Indigenous income ratio of 60%.

Between 1996 and 2001, the Australian Capital Territory had the highest real mean income growth for Indigenous persons (21%), followed by Victoria (14%) and New South Wales (13%).

(a) See 'Statistical Geography, Volume 1, Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), 2001' (1216.0).(b) Data in this table for 1996 are expressed in 2001 prices, using movements in the Consumer Price Index.

Source: ABS data available on request, 1996 and 2001 Censuses of Population and Housing.

Unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia Licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website Copyright notice. For permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us.